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Tantra yoga: a yoga apart

The Tantric system makes liberation the final, but not the only aim; it takes on its way a full perfection and enjoyment of the spiritual power, light and joy in the human existence, and even it has a glimpse of a supreme experience in which liberation and cosmic action and enjoyment are unified in a final overcoming of all oppositions and dissonances.

SRI AUROBINDO (The Synthesis of Yoga, p.587)

Tantra (tan, to explain; tra, to liberate) literally means the knowledge that explains the principles of Reality (tattva), and thereby liberates. Its basic principle is simple. Vedanta does not consider the creation to be apart from the Creator. Since the Divine has an all-pervasive presence in the world, the Divine can be approached through the world. While the basic principle is sound, it can lead to ridiculous extremes if carried to its logical conclusions. It can justify every basic instinct such as sex or violence as the gate to the Divine. To combine enjoyment of the world (bhukti) with liberation (mukti) is difficult and dangerous. It is difficult because uninhibited indulgence in worldly pleasures and at the same time remaining detached from them is a very severe test. It is dangerous because indulgence without total inner purity is a disaster on the spiritual path.

Philosophically speaking, yoga is closely related to both Vedanta and Samkhya. Samkhya is a dualistic philosophy, distinguishing clearly between Purusha, that knows, sanctions, governs, and witnesses; and Prakriti, the executive power of Purusha. Schools of yoga, in general, consider Purusha to be the Lord of yoga. But in tantra yoga, the Lord of yoga is Prakriti. The practical implication of this bold departure is the dissolution of the dichotomy between spiritual and worldly life. Through this principle, it is possible to divinize worldly life, and make yoga accessible also to the householder.

Although tantra uses some of the same techniques as hatha yoga and raja yoga, the characteristic methods of tantric sadhana are Japa (chanting of the name of the Divine), prayer, and a variety of rituals. Tantra yoga lays special emphasis on awakening the secret potential inherent in each individual (kundalini). Kundalini is considered to be a coiled serpent at the base of the spine. A coiled serpent, like a coiled spring, is a compressed structure. It looks much smaller than it is. When stretched out, it turns out to be much longer than one could have imagined. The same is true of a person’s potential. It remains hidden till tapped properly. Hence, a coiled serpent is a beautiful symbol for the hidden human potential. Once the kundalini has been awakened, it opens up the chakras, one by one, starting with the one at the base, and going up to the forehead.

Tantra yoga has, within it, two alternative paths – the right hand path (dakshina maarga), and the left-hand path (vaama maarga). The division is based on the principle that liberation may be achieved through knowledge (right-hand) or through joyous acceptance of nature (left-hand). Tantra, especially the left-hand path, fell into discredit because it, according to Sri Aurobindo, “not content with exceeding the duality of virtue and sin and instead of replacing them by spontaneous rightness of action seemed to make a method of self-indulgence, a method of unrestrained social immorality”. Starting with the laudable principle of confronting and conquering manifested Nature, tantra degenerated into unbridled indulgence and a set of obscure formulae and occult practices. If there is any leeway left for sliding down to the basic temptations of the body and the mind, it will happen. Also, the outer form has a tendency to get more and more elaborate and overshadow the underlying spirit. However, Sri Aurobindo cut through the excesses and externalism of tantra yoga, uncovered and appreciated its basic approach of not withdrawing from the world, and incorporated it in his synthesis of yoga, known as integral yoga.